Matt yammers on about cartoonist MILTON CANIFF and lesser topics for the edification of millions.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

MILTON CANIFF NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2011

STEVE CANYON ON DVD VOL. 3 RELEASE DATE. This week, John Ellis of the Milton Caniff Estate announced the release date for Volume 3 of the "Steve Canyon" TV series on DVD. The much-anticipated conclusion to Ellis' loving restoration happens November 14th. Volume 2 was released in May 2009, with Volume 3 originally slated for Spring 2010. Ellis has had to overcome numerous obstacles, both financial and technical, to bring these shows to we, the public. If you have not pre-ordered, order yours today by going here!

CANIFF AUGUST - In the most exciting year since the Caniff centennial, three important Milton Caniff publications came out last month. CANIFF: A Visual Biography - an oversize page turner breathless packed with artwork, most of it rare and much of it unseen. Steve Canyon, The Complete Series, Volume One - collecting the Dell Steve Canyon comic books of the 1950s. Male Call - a complete reprinting of Caniff's WWII strip done exclusively for Camp Newpaper Services. I reviewed the Canyon book here. I'll have more on the other two books in the coming weeks.

The big announcement at San Diego this year (for Caniffites, that is) was that Dean Mullaney and the Library of American Comics will be reprinting 'Steve Canyon' in deluxe hardcovers beginning in 2012. These will be in the same format 'The Complete Terry & the Pirates' and will fit alongside them nicely both on your bookshelf and in your brain. Uncropped dailies...Sunday strips in Color...read more about the visual spectacle from Dean himself.

The Shel Dorf Awards will be given out in a ceremony at this year's Detroit Fanfare. This is the second year for the awards, named for Detroit native Shel Dorf, honoring the best in comics and comic creators. Dorf is best known as a founder of the San Diego Comic-Con, but Caniffites know him as letterer for 'Steve Canyon' from 1975 to 1988. Find out more about Dorf from one of my old posts.

The Hooded Utilitarian, a blog of cultural criticism, took an informal comics poll in May and June to try and discern the answer to this question: "What are the ten comics works you consider your favorites, the best, or the most significant?". They received 211 lists back and got some very interesting results. While comic strip works did rank highly, "Terry & the Pirates" ranked at 28th, a bit low to my mind, tied with American Splendor. "Peanuts", "Krazy Kat" and "Calvin and Hobbes" were the top three, with "Little Nemo" and "Pogo" also making the top ten. I guess 28th's not bad in a poll that covers comic strips and books. After all, it did beat Spider-Man. Bruce Canwell, wordsmith for the Library of American Comics, posted his own list and rationale for each. You should read that here.